pillar man 2.0

Chapter 15 - Quetzal vs Acalan 2

Quetzal had a bad premonition upon seeing his smile. She quickly began to ponder the reason when she noticed a thin cord attached to Acalan's dagger. It was so thin and blended perfectly with the darkness that it was difficult to see even for Quetzal, who had night vision. But Acalan didn't give her time to think of a countermeasure and immediately pulled the cord of the dagger that was lodged in his hand. The dagger, off course, suddenly shot towards Quetzal at high speed. Acalan timed his other dagger perfectly and thrust it straight towards her heart. Despite knowing about the cord, she couldn't react in time. However, she had a countermeasure from the beginning of the fight. Suddenly, seemingly against the odds, Acalan's feet stumbled as he hit something else. He fell awkwardly. He was furious and embarrassed for tripping and missing his attack in front of all these spectators. He didn't even think about the object that caused his fall when he saw the huge smile on Quetzal's face. Huitzilin noticed the small veins sprouting from the ground. His mother quickly used the veins she had hidden underground to bring Acalan down at a critical moment. "What a bold move," Huitzilin commented as he watched the fight continue. Acalan in his enraged and frenzied state was attacking Quetzal recklessly. Quetzal was defending herself, but she also had many scratches from Acalan's attacks. But Acalan didn't know there was a threat looming behind him, which he didn't notice due to his rage. The ground behind him writhed as numerous tentacle-like veins projected from the floor and danced wildly in the air. When Acalan felt something was wrong and turned around, he was shocked to the core. Countless tentacle-like things were thrashing in the air as fear overtook him. His legs trembled intensely. The same happened to all the spectators as they couldn't comprehend what had happened. The calm ones were Huitzilin and Quetzal. The veins coiled around Acalan as they lifted him up. He tried to escape, but it was futile. As he began cutting some of the veins, he realized his body was rapidly losing strength. "Do you surrender?" Quetzal's emotionless voice broke the silence as the crowd looked on in awe. They finally understood that those tentacles were Quetzal's doing. Atzi looked at Huitzilin in shock to see his expression. But he seemed very calm, as if all of this was natural. This led her to believe that he knew about this beforehand. "Zee, w-what is this?" she stammered in fear. But Huitzilin just shrugged. At that moment, someone suddenly shouted. "They're the Gods. Yes, they're definitely the Gods. They have blessed Quetzal to give her supernatural powers. So that she may lead the Chalca tribe to glory and spread her honorable name throughout the world." "Yes, they are the Gods." "The Gods have blessed our tribe." Soon, the crowd began to applaud and dance with joy. Even the nobles and high-ranking officials were dancing without caring about their status and image.

Huitzilin facepalmed at this. Honestly, he failed to foresee this development.

"Man, how devout and superstitious they are?" he thought exasperatedly. The crowd quickly calmed down as the fight wasn't over, though they had no hope of Acalan winning or even surviving.

In the arena, Acalan was horrified to feel his strength being rapidly drained by those tentacles.

"W-what are you?" Acalan shouted in horror.

"Do you surrender or do you want to die?" Quetzal asked with a calm and cold voice. Acalan didn't have the ability to think as he shouted.

"I surrender, I surrender," even as he said that, he still clung to his warrior's pride. He was deeply ashamed of losing to Quetzal, but his will to live overcame his humiliation.

Soon the tentacles released their grip as Acalan collapsed. Due to fear and his strength being drained, he quickly passed out.

"I am the winner of this battle and the leader of our tribe. As you've seen, I am clearly not normal. If you show your patriotism and fight for the tribe, you too will have access to these powers," Quetzal's voice echoed throughout the arena.

The tribe members cheered and shouted. They yelled with joy as they fantasized about gaining powers.

"Long live the tribe leader!"

"Long live the chief!"

"Long live those blessed by God!"

The veins gradually receded into Quetzal's body as everything returned to normal. She soon left the arena as servants quickly took Acalan away to give him medicines to heal his wounds.

Quetzal's wounds and minor scratches healed very quickly. Such level of injury was trivial for her.

Huitzilin's perspective:

My mother soon exited the arena as the spectators conversed among themselves about her with curious and fervent expressions.

"Atzi, I'll see you later. If you have time, come home." I quickly ran in the direction my mother went.

Soon, I found her in front of my father's grave, looking at it with a stunned expression. I quickly arrived by her side.

"Congratulations, Chief of the Quetzal tribe," I said jokingly, but also sincerely congratulating her.

"Haha, thank you very much, my dear son. It wouldn't have been possible without you," she replied with a smile.

"It was your hard work, mother. The fight was also spectacular." I was honestly very anxious, even though she had become a vampire.

"Thank you, but I know I would clearly have lost without my vampiric abilities. That old fox is a very experienced fighter," she added with a sigh.

"You didn't kill him?"

"You could say that. He's clearly a great fighter who is useful for the tribe. If he were to become a vampire, he would be even more powerful. I don't wish to lose a powerful ally due to my personal grudge," she replied. She had already started to bear the responsibilities of being the leader. "Don't worry, mother, I will always support you in every way I can." The tribe celebrated all night long and sacrificed to various gods, thanking them for blessing their tribe. They also promised the gods to spread their name and give more blood to satisfy them. "Sigh, these people are going to turn into vampires."

End of chapter